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It seems like it was only yesterday when we were on a road trip one Spring day in 2013 and Runaway Pony name was born as we were reading Runaway Bunny (a classic children’s book by Margaret Brown – 1942) and a month later we founded the company. We created our first prototypes with a couple of production houses in Los Angeles and the process was all exciting and…scary. A few blocks on the road later, the very first cute sunsuits and dresses of Runaway Pony were born. We worked with an amazing and sweet child and commercial photographer Nicole Benitez Photography to shoot our very first Spring 14 campaign in August 2013, at one of the most magical hidden gems in Los Angeles. I remember we counted down to midnight when we launched our very first collection on February 7, 2014 at 00:01 AM. Now we are three years old counting from the launch day, but we are really four years old from the day the company was founded. We want to take this moment to say: THANK YOU from the bottom of our very hearts for your deep support, loyalty, trust and love in our sweetly baked dresses, sunsuits, rompers, overalls – in our brand, our vision, our mission, our labor of love, our determination, and our dreams.

Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are. Starting a business is never easy and with every challenge and obstacle we learn (sometimes the hard way, Kleenex is always handy), get back up again and grow. With every accomplishment and success, we grab a Kleenex again, and our hearts melt like a cup of delicious hot chocolate with marshmallows on top full of gratitude, warmth and joy. With every design that is made to life, I jump in joy like a child in a candy store and I want to hug the seamstresses and everyone nearby. “It’s so cute!!! Thank you!!!” is often heard in a high pitch note (my voice) and a big smile is seen on our faces. Visions of darling little children in each creation always make my day. You, your support, our inspirations and love for children keep us going. There are days that taste like cupcakes and macarons. That are days that taste like…well, “I have to eat my greens” kind of flavor. But any day being around the sweets we bake is a good day and most of all it’s because we love what we do! With every baby step, we reach a milestone.

Because of all of you: darling customers everywhere, reps, models, photographers, cutter, grader, pattern makers, seamstresses, vendors, everyone of you…we are blessed to be able to step up to where we are. So., THANK YOU from our hearts to yours. Our atelier is full of our nostalgic, playful, classic, fancy, sweet collection for little darlings just like our hearts that are full of love. We love you and extremely grateful for having you in our company’s sweet lifestories.

On behalf of our brand, we would like to address our most sincere apologies, once more, for another big delay in our inventory of the new Cotton Candy dresses and the new assortment of colors. We also truly apologize for causing a longer delay in shipping the pre-ordered Cotton Candy dresses to our valued customers. Some circumstances that are beyond our control have forced us to change production strategies and teams in the middle of the project. We would like to assure you that you will really see adorable, amazing and excellent American-made clothing pieces that you have never seen anywhere else for your little ones. We have taken all the necessary actions by working with a new solid production team with a much tighter production management control in all areas. With these changes, our available product inventory date to you had to be adjusted to July 21st, if not earlier! We will offer a special price adjustment for those who have placed a pre-order for the Cotton Candy dress. We would like to thank you for your great amount of understanding and patience. Meanwhile, everything at Kumquat is 20% off this week till the weekend ends! Our giveaway at Bubby and Bean is also still open until 2 days from now. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and here’s to Happy July!

The creative and awesome blog Bubby and Bean is hosting our giveaway this time! It will run for 7 days from yesterday! So, ENTER and win a $75 shop credit to our store here now! Follow Bubby and Bean because it’s full of beautiful and inspiring goodies that talk about fashion, DIY projects, inspiration, home decor, food and treats, wedding and things, giveaways, travels, photography and much more! You will be very inspired for sure and your summer will be so much more energizing! Big shout-out of super love to Bubby and Bean from Runaway Pony! Thank you for your love and the generous words about us! Lots of love to all of you and thank you for all your support, too!

Yay! Our collection has been mentioned today on Twitter as the “CUTEST baby clothes ever”! by Melissa Baswell Williams, founder of this amazing lifestyle & design blog http://www.bubbyandbean.com/p/about.html and a contributor to Lucky Magazine Online! Thank you so much, Bubby and Bean!

While you’re at it, check out Bubby & Bean Art and Mountains of the Moon too! Melissa is a sustainable fashion designer, art print/card designer, blogger, traveler, dog lover, and fun seeker! One amazing mama for sure!!! We love her and her creative mind! So inspiring!

After about nine months of preparation that included designing, fabric hunting, endless visits to the pattern maker and our production house, then fun photoshoots with Nicole Benitez Photography , I am beyond excited (and relieved!) that our inaugural collection is now ready for the world to see.

Here are some of the beautiful pictures taken by Nicole:

Some pictures taken by me:

It sure does feel like I just had a newborn baby! With the overflowing joy and excitement, pride, and heart-melting moments that came with the arrival of my new “baby”, I feel that everyday is a new experience to treasure! We feel overwhelmed with love as {another} precious dream-come-true baby adds warmth to our home. It also came with sleepless nights and a very hungry baby that needs to be “fed” every two hours, at least

It is an amazing and rewarding feeling being a mother. You watch your child bloom right before your eyes, grow with your child together to bring out the best in each other through every milestone, and to embrace childhood and motherhood together. Runaway Pony sure keeps me busi-ER!

If you have not taken a close look to our “new baby photo” aka our logo, here is a closer look.

Our logo portrays the air of nostalgia by picturing the old-fashioned rocking pony. The scalloped frame in an oval shape depicts our classic yet versatile style. We picked Pantone Blue Curacao as our turquoise color that represents freshness, yet with retro feel. The orangey-red color that I always love, and is in our logo for the precious pony, is Pantone 485-C. It represents the faster heartbeats that babies have. It shouts for the excitement that roars boldly everyday when our little children bask in their happy childhood. The light green bow (Pantone Dark Citron) on the pony speaks softly for our delicate love of the to-die-for embellishments on our products. And the name Runaway Pony was inspired by the classic book Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown of which I adore because it talks about the relationship between a mother and her bunny. The story is in line with what I want the world to always remember: the endless love that we moms have for our children.

At Runaway Pony, we love to celebrate children just being children. We love seeing their contentment when they play outside and throw giggles in the air, or paint artwork outdoors, catch a butterfly, swing endlessly, say hello to the ducks, or read a book out loud. Our hearts melt when we see those twinkling eyes and big innocent smiles when they smear themselves with cupcake frosting, chocolate, or marinara sauce while they’re basking in childhood (we like to say this again and again because it’s so, so true). We embrace the innocence, happiness, and sweetness in children through playful, comfortable yet sophisticated clothing that is reminiscent of simpler times. They’re only small once and we want to always celebrate that in the most beautiful way possible.

This sure feels very similar to nurturing a baby. It is an amazing and rewarding feeling being a mother. And it is the same feeling being an mom-entrepreneur. You watch your child bloom right before your eyes, grow with your child together to bring out the best in each other through every milestone, and embrace childhood and motherhood together. I watch the business take one step after another and the familiar feeling is so rewarding.

I learn every beginning step through experience the most. But I learn so much from other independent designers I come across, blogs, friends in the industry, other entrepreneurs, and of course our vendors and production house. I should tell you a little bit about our production house in the Arts District, Los Angeles. We love The Evans Group and the always-on-the-ball, always-looking-together project manager Sam! Without them, these precious sunsuits, dresses and overalls would not be here. “Do you know where your clothes were made?” is the sentence that is very important for me. Not only does The Evans Group perform high quality work for our precious pieces, but we get to know every single person who works on our garments! From the founder, project manager, the cutter, the grader, the pattern maker head, and the sewers! I know exactly where Runaway Pony clothes were made. I know exactly whom I need to talk to, or give my detailed instructions to, or who works specifically on what style. We call, we text, we email, we meet in person. Communication is awesome. They are real live people who are amazing and fascinating. The production house is not a sweat shop. People who work there are good happy employees who are high skilled and experienced. They like what they do (I can tell if someone doesn’t like what they do in the seconds we just met). I felt right at home when I walked in there to meet Sam, my project manager, for the very first time. I was greeted so warmly and I felt so welcomed. When you walk in to the shop, the atmosphere is fascinating…picture this: the warm sound of sewing machines, the smiles on their faces when they see you, and the respect they show each other is shown everywhere in everything they do. It just has a really nice vibe. Seeing the entire technical process of really realizing your dream to come true before your own eyes is priceless. Especially as a new designer and entrepreneur who needs a lot of guidance producing the first collection and launching it, I always feel so welcomed here, never intimidated. I have a practical learning experience by being able to see every step of the making of my production. I love that. Sam gives the best advice on anything you need: from what exactly the meaning of every production term anyone needs to know right on the spot such as: “marking”, “sew-by samples”, “grading”, “digitizing”, “cutting”,…to fabric sourcing, photoshoots, fashion shows, you name it. I am always impressed by Sam’s efficiency, precise-and-clear direction, detailed attention, as well as her (my favorite) million-dollar opinion, sense of humor and organizational skills. So whenever she gives me a compliment, I feel so honored! Thanks, Sam! I also love sharing just my random brainstorm thoughts with her as she has many years of experience in the industry.

So, when you ask me why I made the clothes in the US instead of overseas, my answer will be this. We take all of the above as a high value that is priceless to us. It’s what I believe something you cannot beat. It just makes sense. My sew-by samples (the samples before we run a production) can be made within days (assuming you have all the materials to make it, especially a clear pattern, marking and detailed sketch for each sample). I love what Sam told me on the first day we met after seeing my most intricate sketches with so many contrasts in one style (for Sugar and Milk), “Dian, we don’t fail. We might make a mistake, but we fix that mistake and we don’t fail.” I was sold and it’s the truth.

If we can help the American workforce and economy to stay happy, healthy and busy, and we get to practice fair trade and receive first-class treatment in doing business, then it is definitely a good choice for us as we only want the best products from a valuable trade for our customers. We want you to be happy with your products and proud of what you purchase for your children: classy, high quality, sophisticated and adorable clothing. We want you to create beautiful nostalgia with your little ones. Don’t forget to take so many photographs of them laughing and giggling together with you.

We thank you for being excited for us, and some of you even were counting down with us the night our website store went live. Thank you for the support and tremendous amount of joy you have shown! It will always be treasured in our hearts!

Happy birthday, America. Thank you for giving us the land that is full of dreams and opportunities. Thank you for teaching us how to imagine freely. To follow our hearts and minds, to stand up for ourselves, to grow our families and to teach our children the freedom of love, freedom of speech, freedom of choice, and freedom of creation. United we stand. In the pursuit of happiness. Happy 4th of July! May we sparkle all the way!

We are extremely grateful this Fourth of July for that we are here in the land of ideas. We hope that everyone of you get to enjoy this special day with your loved ones!

May your eyes be full of dreams and may your childhood dreams come to live!

Welcome to the Runaway Pony blog site. I am Dian McManus. I am vintage-classic minded, a momtrepreneur, a “stage mom” and a mommy to two sweet darling little girls under the age of five who keep me up on my toes everyday. My little girly girls are my true inspiration, my breath and my angels who bring out the best in me.

Ever since my darling little 4-year-old Keira was discovered in my belly, I knew I would be having so much fun being a mommy. I always love fashion for me but I am also crazy about children’s fashion and dress-up play endless items. So when I discovered I was going to have a girl, I was beyond overjoyed. Not that a boy would have frozen me on the spot with disappointment! Keira is exactly what I had wished for, in every amazing detail. Girly, smart, a chatterbox, confident, beautiful and most of all, healthy. She also loves art, math and reading. And did I mention likes to learn how to play chess? Then three years and five months later, I got another blessing that was equally exciting. We got another sweet baby girl, Fiona, who could look like Keira’s twin sister except for Fiona’s curly baby hair! Fiona was born nine pounds and four ounces, and ever since she was in mama’s belly, I knew she would be a smart good eater baby and have so many fun personalities! She definitely is and she loves food dearly, though not so much milk. She is a very opinionated girl just like her big sister. I really think that being a mommy to these two girls has really made my mind think more creatively. I have become a crafty mom, a more-than-ever baker mom, and a cook mom. I thought I was only into home decorating and tastemaking. Apparently, I am all into making things that have a lot to do with home, with my girls, with my friends’ kids, and lately, with the community! Having two girls has brought me here: I love dressing up the girls and making pretty things so much that I want to have my own clothing line. I feel incredibly grateful for my sweet Keira and Fiona.

When Keira was a baby, we lived at a different place that had a spacious walk-in closet for all her baby clothes. Her closet looked like a children’s clothing boutique. And so did her drawers (and still do). Her closet’s collection was so inspiring to me. All those beautiful gorgeous colors and styles. And then one day my sweet (and the most awesome) mom in law gave me a pile of real vintage sunsuits and baptism dresses along with baby overalls. The sunsuits and I met. I FELL IN LOVE deeper with vintage children’s clothing. The sunsuit belonged to the baby who is now the girls’ Grandma Sally. Yes, Grandma Sally wore it when she was not even a year old. I was choked up. What an honor to have been given the precious heirloom and how amazing is Grandma Sally for keeping all these precious pieces all these years!

The sunsuit collection in Runaway Pony is a tribute to Grandma Sally. Here is a picture of Keira at six months old wearing her grandma Sally’s baby sunsuit!

And here are snapshots of Fiona!

I wish I could freeze time. I want them to be small for a long time. Classic children’s clothing pieces bring back childhood memories to me. Classic children’s story books bring me a sense of comfort, warmth, and cuddly-feel. I want to re-live the classic childhood play days, the simpler times, and re-create more fond memories by just being with my girls. I want to play with them, read them that extra story, cuddle tight with them, spend summer days and nights with them at every waking hour, do all the things that I know will make them glow with euphoria. Even when I feel like falling into pieces from a long day. I just want them to remember how happy they were as children. And I want to share all of that with you and the little darlings in your life.

Welcome to the glory story of my love for children, for the classic childhood memories, for the vintage-inspired children’s fashion that is adorable, playful and beautiful. And most importantly, the kind that tells a story of the unconditional mother’s love.
Samples are coming this summer! I cannot wait to introduce our line to you!

Thank you for all the sweet follow on our Twitter @RunawayPonyLA!:) We now have sweet followers of 550+! Yay! Keep them coming

Exciting things are coming our way! Though the website is still under development, our blog now has been moved to the same website here! First, we are still waiting for a few more samples that should be done in a couple of weeks. Then, we will be working on our very first ever photoshoot!!! We are extremely excited that we will be working with an awesome and talented mommy photographer friend Nicole Benitez from Nicole Benitez Photography . Since Dian McManus’s little girls are in the fun show biz through the amazing Paloma Model & Talent family group, we are so fortunate to have known many outstanding and sweet families! Many of them are very, very talented, like Nicole. Not just the kids, but also the moms or the dads! And we are so blessed that Nicole will be our very first photographer! Nicole has worked on Keira’s headshots and we are truly excited we will be working with her again! We love Nicole and her personable sweet being! Her work is beyond stunning!

The next thing that will happen is…our “Mom of the Month” blog section! We will be choosing a Mom of the Month every month to be featured on our blog. Moms can submit a short paragraph with a picture or two to info@runawaypony.com. We ask that they can tell us a typical story of their day. Moms, what do you do, how do you do it, how do you juggle everything, how do you keep the kids at home during summer (mommy camp, anyone?:) and what are things or what is it that makes you feel so delightfully happy of being a mom to your little darling or darlings. We would love to hear any inspiring story! When a mom is chosen to be featured on our blog, she will get 30% off discount and free shipping! All moms are AMAZING and just like superwomen in our eyes, so we look forward to hearing all the darling stories of your mommyhood!

With that said, Mommy Dian McManus has been busy with her little girls opening up her home to friends and family who want to join her “Mommy Summer Camp”! (This week’s theme was “Up, Up and Away!”) where the girls learned about airplanes, rockets, hot-air balloons, clouds and such. They also made a field trip to Santa Monica Airport where the family had a picnic lunch on the public viewing deck watching the little planes land and take off. Snacks included a “Blast Off” rocket snack and Keira also wanted to make hot-air balloon paintings. Today to close the week, they will be making paper rocket craft and possibly a rocket made out of cardboard! Fun fun fun! Happy summer to all of you!!!